She Runs

She runs. The sticks and loose leaves on the ground crunching as her racing footsteps slap
across the surface. Her shoes are gone, left on the riverbank to make her feet lighter. Her dress
snags on the hungry branches, tearing as she struggles to run away. She knows that it is gaining.
Her unknown nemesis, the enemy at her heels. All thoughts of the past few days are banished
from her mind. Her only thoughts are the beat of her racing heart, the pain of struggling breaths,
and the sound of the ground under her aching feet.

Up ahead, the wood starts to thin. She knows that means she can't stay hidden, but with her
enemy at her heels, she can't stop. She races ahead, dodging the trees and ducking under the low
branches. She trips over an upraised root and tumbles to the ground. She can hear the heavy
footsteps and panting breaths of her nemesis gaining behind her. She scrambles to her feet and
races on, trying to ignore the blood gushing from her skinned knees. Her ribs ache from running,
the stitch in her side getting too painful to bear, the night air on her back, like icy fingers, making
her shiver as she runs. Her loosed hair, snagging on the treacherous branches, trailing behind her,
matted with the blood that flows from the cut on her head. Tears stream down her face and blur
her vision. The skin on her hands is cut and bleeding from the rough ground she landed on. The
pain in her heart is starting to settle like a stone in her chest, aching from the recent betrayal. Her
mother's necklace, the last link to her painful childhood, slapping against her chest as she runs.

She reaches the edge of the wood and stumbles onto the road. The sound of a horn shakes her
out of her painful stupor. She stops, caught, like a deer in the headlights of the oncoming car. As
the car gets closer, she closes her eyes and resigns herself to this fate.

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She hears sounds and slowly opens her eyes. The headlights blind her and she starts to back
away. The driver stopped the car just inches away from her and got out of the car to help her. A
noise comes from the woods and she turns to face her nemesis. A figure comes out of the woods
and stops at the sight of her. She can feel her heart beating, pumping her blood out the cuts on
her knees and hands.

The sight of her nemesis standing right in front of her is intoxicating. Its smug smile makes her feel
small. She backs away, slowly, trying to reach the other edge of the woods. Something inside her
wants to reach a place on the other side of the woods. Something inside her needs to run, to get
away from this unknown man before her. The gravel of the road shifts under her feet, making a
quick getaway difficult. Her nemesis turns to face the driver of the car, pulling a gun from the
waistband of its pants.

At the sight of the gun, she runs. She gathers up speed and is dodging trees at a fast pace when
she hears the shot ring out. Another shot follows, finishing off the driver. She runs as fast as her
injured legs can carry her, swiping at the branches that appear in her path. Her hands involuntarily
wipe at the blood pouring down her face from the wound on her scalp. She leaves a traceable path
behind her with the blood seeping from her skinned knees.

She reaches a tree with low branches and starts to climb. When she is high enough, she sits on a
branch and watches for her nemesis. The sound of its footsteps reach her ears long before she
can see him. It runs straight past her tree and does not notice her. She waits, holding her breathe,
until she can no longer hear his footsteps. She reaches for the hem of her dress and rips a long
piece off. She uses the strip and bandages her bleeding hand. Ripping her dress off above the
knee, and starts to rip it to pieces. She uses the ripped pieces to bandage and cover her skinned
knees, her bleeding hands, and the gash on her scalp. As soon as the bandages are in place and
the bleeding has stopped, she gingerly climbs down from her tree.

Even though she has bought a few minutes with her trick, her nemesis will soon discover her
treachery. She runs through the woods, back to the road. As she reaches the road, she sees the
body of the driver on the ground, shot through the back, trying to reach the edge of the woods.
She climbs into the car and reaches for the keys. She turns the key and starts the car, not knowing
how she knows what to do. The engine roars into life and she plants her foot on the accelerator. A
sigh of relief escapes her lips as she has found a new way to run.

Speeding down the road, her vision starts to blur. The lights on the dashboard blend into a mess
of colour, the trees blur into a solid wall. Her heart beats faster, her blood soaking the makeshift
bandages. She clutches the necklace in her spare hand, trying hard to remember a time before
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the chase. Her only memories are of constant running, as if her life was nothing before her
nemesis started the chase.

A sudden turn in the road, she loses control. The car sails down the hill, bouncing on the rocks
and off the trees. She can see the end of the hill, suspended over a fast flowing river. She closes
her eyes and allows the car to careen over the end and fall into the river. She can hear the water
getting closer. As the car disappears under the surface of the water, she remembers a picture of
someone's face. She opens her eyes and looks around. The car is under the water and filling up
fast. She takes a deep breath and pushes open the door. The rush of water is ice-cold, waking up
her senses. She kicks free of the car and swims to the surface. The water is flowing towards a
waterfall, carrying her along with it. She kicks against the current, struggling to survive. She
reaches the opposite side and climbs out. Her bandages have come undone and were all washed
away by the current.

A noise on the other bank of the river draws her attention. Her nemesis. It has found its way to the
river, but has not crossed. Is she free? She steps forward and a stick snaps under her bare foot.
Her nemesis turns to face her. That smug smile appears again. It walks to the edge of the river
and jumps in. She turns and she runs. The beat of her footsteps matches the beat of her heart.
The trees seem alive, reaching out to stop her. She can hear the sticks breaking under its feet as
her nemesis starts to catch up.

A break appears in the woods, the break she has been looking for. She stumbles out of the trees
and into the clearing. A worn down house sits in the middle of the clearing. A light shines out of the
window, welcoming her. She gingerly takes a step towards the house, then she hears noise
behind her. Her nemesis steps into the clearing with her. In the light from the house, she gets her
first clear look at its face. Deep blue eyes, filled with agony. A sandy beard, matted with blood from
scratches on its face. Sandy hair tangled with sticks and blood from cuts. Its shirt is torn, snagged
on a branch long ago. Its pants covered in blood, torn at the knees and fraying at the ankles. Its
shoes, long gone, dropped to be able to chase her.

She steps closer to her nemesis and looks into its face. Her nemesis, her enemy, the one that she
has been running from for as long as she can remember, is a man. She knows this man, but like
the necklace, she does not know how. The man opens his mouth to speak. Her vision blurs,
leaving her dizzy and disoriented. The world starts to turn and she collapses. As she falls, she
feels his gentle arms catch her. She allows him to hold her as her world goes black.

As she starts to stir, she can hear the crackle of a fire. Her head aches, her hands sting, and her
knees feel stiff. Her feet are warm and wrapped in something soft. She opens her eyes and sees
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him kneeling before the fireplace. He hears her stir and looks up. A smile splits his face, not the
smug smile from before. He ladles out some soup and brings it to her. He holds the spoon to her
lips and helps her drink. He gently smooths the hair out of her eyes and looks around. She looks
around the house, the vague tingles of memory tickling the sides of her mind. She asks, 'What is
this place?' He smiles and answers. This is Haven, Princess. Please don't run away again
tomorrow.'

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